This post is Part 3 of 3 about the pitfalls I’ve seen writers fall into during my times as a fiction judge. You can read this even if you haven’t read the others, but you may find it easier to start with Parts 1 & 2!
https://www.towritewithwildabandon.com/p/common-fiction-writing-pitfalls-part-1-of-3
https://www.towritewithwildabandon.com/p/common-fiction-writing-pitfalls-part-2-of-3
This week, we’ll cover pitfalls that fall under the banner of “Major Issues” and some tips for avoiding those, too.
Major Issues
Characters are too forthcoming and agreeable with each other. Humans tend to hide things, even when they’re being honest. Or, they’re trying to get their own way, often disagreeing with other people around them. But in bad short stories, a character asks a question, another character gives an answer like they’re batting the ball back and forth in a tennis game warm-up. No conflict. No plot. No fun for the reader. I talked about this very issue in a recent post, A Trick for Adding Conflict to Your Story.
Here’s another viewpoint from Laura Spence-Ash that specifically relates to adding conflict to your dialogue. https://www.craftliterary.com/2017/09/15/conflict-in-dialogue/Lack of voice. A strong voice sells the story better than anything. However, voice tends to be one of those things that develops for writers over time. The best solution I know is to keep writing.
Telling, not showing. Another whole topic on its own. Suffice to say, this happens a lot in stories that don’t make the cut. If you’re telling us too much about what happened yesterday and today and tomorrow rather than letting the story unfold on its own, that’s a good sign you need to show more.
Stories click along tickety-boo. This is similar to the forthcoming characters, above. Very often, there is an extreme lack of interesting conflict. “Let’s go for a picnic!” “Yes, let’s!” Sounds like a great day with a friend, but it makes for a terrible story. When there is conflict, it tends to get tied up in a bow too easily, too quickly, too cleanly. We need messy, ragged scars that have serious and lasting consequences.
No connection between the actions in the story and the feelings in the characters. Especially, no burning desire. Characters, especially main characters, need to want something in a story, and need to suffer to get it (or get something different…) in the end. If something happens to the character, we need to understand what specific impact that has on the character – and empathize with them. Show us why it matters!
Final Tip
Sell No Wine Before Its Time. If you’re of a certain age, you may recognize this tagline for Paul Masson wine delivered by none other than Orson Welles. It’s a good rule for writers as well as winemakers. Many of these mistakes outlined above happen because the writer ran out of time. Don’t submit your story until it’s ready just because you’ve “committed” to entering a contest or making a certain deadline. I can’t stress this enough.
I know. I usually “suggest” or “recommend” or “provide alternatives” rather than dictate didactically. But this is more about business of writing rather than the creative side, where things are more black and white. Submitting a half-baked, half-assed story is amateurish and wastes everybody’s time. (I’ve done this before and regretted it, so I’m speaking from experience here… I know the lure of the red dragon that makes you leap before you’re ready!) Save it for the next deadline, and polish it up in the meantime.
Over to You
Anything I’ve missed in these three posts? I would also be curious to know if these ideas helped you at all with your own writing. Let us know in the comments below or email me directly!
Next week, we’ll conclude with Major Issues.
Until next time, keep writing with wild abandon!
~Graham
email me if you get lost.